The wheelchair was not big, but it was spacious for the Abbey Dean to sit in. He was so thin that he did not take up much space even if he was wrapped in a blanket. It was just like how even the greatest person could be kept in a small box after his death. Of course, we could not deny the greatness of the person when he was alive.
He looked at the gray sky quietly. The sky was dim in his eyes. He was no longer as high-spirited as he was when he entered Chang 'an. He was now a candle in the wind, spending his last years.
The Abbey Dean was a great man if he did not think about good and evil, morality, or the future of mankind. Even though he had become a disabled man, he still did great things in his last years.
Who dared to say that it was not great to put Haotian in his plan?
Long Qing answered in a low voice. After a long silence, he could not help but ask, "What if?"
The Abbey Dean said, "There is no what if."
He was the greatest figure in Haotian Taoism in the past thousand years. He was the most devout believer of Haotian, even though he was plotting against Haotian. He would never doubt Haotian's omnipotence.
"No one can kill Haotian, not the Headmaster, not even the Buddha."
Long Qing looked at the gray sky and said, "But the Buddha put Haotian in that chessboard."
The Abbey Dean said, "That chessboard is the Nirvana of the Buddha. Even though I saw the Buddha's Nirvana, I know what it is. I know what he wants to do. But it's in vain."
Long Qing said, "I don't understand."
The Abbey Dean said, "Haotian knows everything and is omnipotent. Even if she thinks she doesn't know, she still knows. Even if the Heaven's plan cannot predict, there is still the Heaven's Heart. Her Heaven's Heart is in that chessboard. She wants to go there. Otherwise, why would she look for the Buddha in the human world?"
Long Qing asked, "Why does Haotian want to find that chessboard?"
The Abbey Dean said, "Because that chessboard can bring her back to the Divine Kingdom."
Long Qing said, "I still don't understand."
The Abbey Dean said, "Even she doesn't understand, not to mention you."
Long Qing frowned slightly and said, "But teacher, you understand."
"Because Haotian told me."
The Abbey Dean pointed to the gloomy sky and said, "It's not Haotian Taoism who wants to plot against Haotian, and it's not me who wants to kill Haotian through the Buddha's plot. It's Haotian who wants to go back."
Long Qing was silent for a long time. He understood what the Abbey Dean meant. Even if Buddha killed Haotian in the chessboard, it only meant that he helped Haotian return to the purest rules.
But … were these really her own thoughts? Or was it the thoughts of Haotian in the Divine Kingdom? What was her relationship with Haotian in the Divine Kingdom? Who was the real Haotian?
"It's all because of Haotian," the Abbey Dean said.
"If the Buddha is really in the chessboard, suppressing or even occupying Haotian forever, and neither killing her nor letting her out, how can she return to the Holy Kingdom?"
Long Qing said, "The Chief Monk of Scripture said a year ago that there is only the fate of Buddha, not the will of heaven."
Hearing what he said, the Abbey Dean could not help but laugh. He laughed happily and innocently, like a child who was secretly opening presents in the treehouse. He even shed tears.
"Apart from Haotian himself … how could there be such a thing as eternity? She either dies in the chessboard and returns to the Divine Kingdom, or she comes out alive and returns to the Divine Kingdom. "
The Abbey Dean took the handkerchief from Long Qing and wiped the tears off his face. He said with a smile, "Who can trap Heaven? How can Heaven be trapped? Even if it can escape from Heaven's plan, how can it escape from Heaven's heart? Even if you can escape from this side of Heaven, how can you escape from that side of Heaven? Even Haotian can't escape from her own heart, not to mention the Headmaster of Academy or the bullsh * t Buddha. How ridiculous. "
Long Qing still did not understand. If Haotian died in the chessboard, or she could turn into rules and return to the Divine Kingdom, why was the Abbey Dean so sure that she would return to the Divine Kingdom even if she came out alive?
The Abbey Dean felt a bit cold. He raised his skinny right hand.
The middle-aged priest stood behind the wheelchair and did not say a word. He pushed the wheelchair into the stone house.
The Abbey Dean left some words for Long Qing and then closed his eyes tiredly to rest his mind.
"Tell Xiong Chumo to get ready."
…
…
The morning bell and the evening drum, the spring flowers and the autumn fruits, the pickles and rice, the black crows and the brook, the Buddhist scriptures and the sky, the lake and the White Tower, time and space all seemed to be flowing and yet still.
Ning Que finished reading hundreds of volumes of Buddhist scriptures and began to read the notes left by the former eminent monks. He cultivated in silence with the bell ringing. His Dharma gradually deepened and his mind was as tranquil as a well.
Sangsang was still watching the sky, sometimes in the courtyard, sometimes by the lake, sometimes in the stream, and sometimes in the tranquil lake. She could never get tired of watching it.
One morning, Ning Que came to the White Tower Temple after making breakfast. As usual, he chatted with the demented monk called Monk Qingban and then went to the meditation room to read scriptures.
While reading the Buddhist scriptures, he felt happy and peaceful. He felt that his Zen heart was clear. Listening to the bell ringing from the distant hall, he seemed to forget all his troubles and worries.
All of a sudden, he saw a shadow on the wall. It was a shadow left on the wall by the candlelight. The shadow was sitting cross-legged and seemed to be cultivating.
Only then did he realize that it was already late at night outside the window. He could not help but sigh that the Dharma was indeed marvelous. Reading Buddhist scriptures could make one forget the passage of time and the suffering.
Sangsang did not follow him to the White Tower Temple today. Thinking that she was still waiting for him at home to make dinner, Ning Que put away the Buddhist scriptures on the table, blew out the candles, and was ready to leave.
But when he crossed the threshold, he suddenly stopped.
He stood in the threshold and kept silent for a long time. Beads of sweat oozed from his forehead.
He wanted to turn back, but he did not dare to. He had a strong feeling that something terrible would happen if he turned back, and his beautiful life would be gone forever.
He struggled for a long time and finally turned back.
Because he was curious. For human beings, curiosity was the best emotion to overcome fear.
Ning Que saw the shadow on the wall again.
He was not reading Buddhist scriptures at the table. The candles on the table had been extinguished, and the stars above the temple were covered by clouds. It was dark, but … the shadow was still there.
It was not his shadow. Then whose shadow was it?
Ning Que looked at the shadow and kept silent for a long time again. Then he walked to the wall.
His footsteps were heavy, and so was his expression.
He walked to the wall and observed it for a long time. He even reached out to touch it and found nothing strange about it. It was just a pure shadow that could only be seen but not touched.
The shade was the shadow of the tree, the sun was the shadow, and the mountain was the shadow. Whose shadow was it? How could there be a shadow that existed alone in the world?
Ning Que thought for a while and sat cross-legged in front of the shadow.
It was not until he sat cross-legged that he realized that it was his own shadow, because it was exactly the same.
When he was sitting at the desk, he saw the shadow sitting cross-legged and seemed to be cultivating Buddha, but he did not notice it.
He suddenly remembered that he had seen a shadow on the stone wall deep in the cliff cave of Xuankong Temple.
It was the shadow of Master Lotus.
Could it be that his cultivation of Buddha had reached the state of Lotus?
Ning Que was a little surprised. He sat on the lotus in his sense of perception and began to cultivate Buddha.
He was a little worried that the shadow would gradually fade, so he wanted to strengthen it.
In just a moment, he entered the state of Dhyana Samadhi.
However, what shocked him was that the shadow on the wall suddenly struggled!
The shadow was no longer sitting cross-legged. It stood up on the wall and raised its arms to support its head, as if it was trying to support something extremely heavy. No, the shadow seemed to be trying to break the sky!
The sky was too heavy for the shadow to succeed. It began to hold its head and twist its body into all kinds of strange shapes, seeming to be in extreme pain.
The shadow continued to struggle like a black flame, burning on the white wall and spitting out flames. It was as if it was dancing a weird dance that made the heaven and earth dance with it!
Ning Que stared at the shadow struggling in pain. He did not know why he could feel its pain. What made him feel even colder was that he could feel a deep unwillingness and anger from the shadow's struggle. The unwillingness and anger were so desperate that the whole world was about to cry.
A strong sense of bitterness rushed to his eyebrows and Ning Que began to cry.
At this moment, a bell rang in the White Tower Temple.
The evening class should have ended long ago. Why was there a bell ringing in the temple?
The bell was so melodious that it could clear one's heart and calm one's mind.
Ning Que gradually calmed down as he listened to the bell.
The shadow on the wall also calmed down. However, it was only for a moment before the shadow struggled again. And because of the bell, it became even more crazy and violent!
There was a loud buzzing sound!
It was not the bell in the temple, but the sound in Ning Que's head. He felt as if someone was holding a sharp giant axe in his head and chopping at his skull!
An indescribable pain spread from his head to his body. His face was pale and his lips were trembling. He was in so much pain that he could not even make a sound!
The bell in the temple stopped ringing and there was silence.
The bell in Ning Que's head continued. The giant axe was still chopping at his skull, as if it was going to split his head open. He held his head and rolled on the ground in pain!
What was going on?
Because of the severe pain, his clothes were soaked in sweat and he was in a trance. He did not notice that in the deepest part of his sense of perception, several pieces of consciousness became unusually bright, as if they were about to explode.
His only remaining consciousness was to find the person who was waving the axe in his head. He wanted to kill that person. He wanted to get rid of this terrible pain!
He climbed to the wall with difficulty and looked at the frantically struggling shadow. He pulled out the iron cutlass and chopped at it with all his strength. He knew that all this must have something to do with the shadow. He wanted to chop it to death!
The iron cutlass fell on the wall. Smoke and dust rose and bricks flew everywhere. However, the shadow was still there, still in front of him.
At this moment, a bell suddenly rang high up in the sky above the Night Temple.
The bell fell into the meditation room, fell on him, and also fell on his heart.
The sound of the bell was another giant axe.
Someone was chopping at his head with an axe.
Someone was chopping at him with an axe in the sky.
He huddled in the corner, his face pale and his eyes scattered and painful, as if he would die at any moment.
…
(To be continued … If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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